Passes & Canyons Blog

Two side car rigs with two dogs.

No sooner had Alan read my remarks about sending dead dinosaurs through my bike than he emailed me to ask if I wanted to join them on a ride Sunday. I did.

Alan, of course, now rides a Gold Wing sidecar rig and his daughter, Abby, joined us in the hack along with her little dog. Then we headed west to the Conoco station out by Morrison where we met up with Sandy, in her Harley sidecar rig, with her dog, Bentley. Alan met Sandy in Sturgis at a sidecar rally this spring and considering that both live in the Denver area, they had been trying to get out for a ride together. This was the day.

And just as an aside, while Alan’s rig is a true beauty, Sandy’s was chosen Best of Show at the rally, so you know it’s a very nice piece of machinery.

We took off with Alan in the lead, me in the rear, and Sandy in between. Although I hadn’t planned it, this allowed me to observe Sandy and Bentley throughout the day. Periodically she would reach over and stroke his head, which was sweet and made me wish I could get a photo of it. Going through towns she would also pet him and on quite a number of occasions she also readjusted his goggles so they would be where they belonged, protecting his eyes.

Bentley doesn’t seem to mind the goggles when they’re at speed but when they slow down or even stop, he wants them off. He has become very adept at turning to the back of his seat and using it to brush the goggles up off his face. I saw him do it time and again. The straps of the goggle are pretty ingenious: one strap goes all the way around his neck, while another goes under his ears and holds them in place. That way, when he brushes them off, they don’t fall off. They just sit on top of his head until Sandy puts them back down.

Everywhere we went Bentley was a head-turner. Everybody was tickled to see the dog with goggles in the sidecar. I remember in particular when we passed a girl of about 10 and her face just lit up as she pointed him out to her friends.

And Bentley was well behaved, too. Though he was not strapped in, he never jumped out inappropriately, although there was one time, again in Boulder, where we were stopped for a red light and he saw a squirrel. “Squirrel!!” Oh man, he wanted that squirrel, but Sandy saw it, too, and poked him to remind him to behave. She had to poke him a couple more times before we left that squirrel behind.

I have to confess I did not even catch the name of Abby’s dog. She and the dog were tucked down inside Alan’s sidecar, way out in front of me, and it was easy for me to forget the dog was even there. Abby did share with us the amusing fact that her dog–more than any she has ever known–has absolutely no idea how to brace itself for the inevitable curves you encounter in a car or any other vehicle. We’d go around a curve and the dog would find itself laying on its back, feet in the air, thrust up against the outside wall of the sidecar. “How did I get here, Mom?”

So it was a beautiful fall day up in the hills and we had a good ride, though it definitely got chilly later on. Caught just a few drops of rain coming through Golden. If the forecast holds out this may be the last good weekend for riding we’ll have for awhile. And there were a lot of folks on bikes out taking advantage of it.

OK, this just arrived. Here’s a group shot.

Group shot in Nederland.

Biker Quote for Today

Only animals belong in cages. (That’s the quote, but I say no, animals don’t belong in cages, either. But some dogs do belong in sidecars.)

Alan and Cheryl with the Goldwing sidecar rig on Red Mountain Pass.

My friend Alan, whose Harley got wrecked when a deer ran him down, has replaced that ride with a sidecar rig. I had put him in contact with another sidecar rider I know, Dom Chang, and I presume Dom provided Alan with some good information on the subject.

Alan sent along a report of a recent multi-day trip he and his wife, Cheryl, took in the new rig and I’m taking the liberty of passing that along. Alan reads this blog so hey Alan, if you object, just let me know. But I’m guessing you won’t.

The ride was a blast! Cheryl loved it. Some things we learned about the rig that we will make some minor additions and modifications but overall we are pleased. We purchased an oscillating fan in Moab and used it. Although the sidecar has ventilation, there are times when it is hot outside but you don’t want to lower the top and remove the windows. Having a fan to move air even when you are stopped helped a lot. We will mount the fan inside the sidecar and put in a switch so you can use it when needed. Have a very tight window to snap shut on the left side and I will have to do a little stretching of the window to make it easier to snap shut. Also, I am going to add two plastic labels to the switches on the left side so you can tell which one opens the top and which one is the PTT for the CB radio. We brought a blanket along and found it helpful when the temps got to 39 degrees one night in Gunnison but it was also helpful generally. That is about it. Really some minor items in the whole scheme of things.

Was it comfy? Yes, very. So much so that Cheryl fell asleep many times just like when she rides in a car.

How did it handle? Well this is definitely not the rig to do canyon carving but it did well. Handles similar to a Harley trike but with differences. Pulls to the right on acceleration and little to the left when braking. Noticeable? Yes? Anticipated? Yes. Problematic? Not really.

I think we gave the rig a thorough workout. I really like the power and stability of the Goldwing. Also, having reverse without having to pay $2,000+ is definitely worth it. We traveled Denver to Moab (took the river road and overnight), then to Naturita, to Lizard Head Pass, to Telluride, to Montrose (overnight), to Durango, to South Fork, to Lake City, to Gunnison (overnight), to Fairplay, to Denver. We put 1,000+ miles on the rig, went over 10 10,000 foot mountain passes, had Interstate, 4 lane and 2 lane roads, highway speeds 75mph+ and 2 lane mountain pass roads of 15-40mph. The rig did everything we asked of it and yes, we like it!!!

Sounds good, Alan. Enjoy the ride. And now I guess Cheryl gets to enjoy the ride, too. That definitely works.

Biker Quote for Today

A shot of espresso is worth another 100 miles.